Cafe Zinc
Cafe Zinc things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
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TLDR: Good food, but pricy. ($68 for one cocktail, a steak, and a tip) Allot a good two hours for a meal here or you’ll feel rushed. Manager has a bit of an attitude, hopefully just caught her on a bad day. Overall, I’ll likely give them another chance but I think we made a poor choice in restaurants for doing dinner and a show. I went with my great aunt and my mom as my great aunt had been here before with a friend and really enjoyed it. I didn’t care for the attitude of the manager, she needs some additional training on customer service. We showed up a little early for our reservation and they hadn’t cleared the table yet, which was totally fine. A couple walked in without a reservation and was immediately seated. My great aunt got a little anxious that we got forgotten about and inquired why they got seated first. The manager gave us a ton of attitude and told us that we needed to “wait 2 whole minutes” for them to finish up. As someone who has worked in customer service for 7 years, I know there were much more polite and less rude ways to handle the situation. We did eventually get seated, even before our reservation time which we appreciated. I believe we were seated by 5:50 when our reservation was at 6. The waitress was excellent and attentive. We ordered our food and drinks at the same time (highly recommend!). Our drinks came out quickly and were very good. I got the Paloma and my mother got some white wine. We chatted and enjoyed ourselves and then noticed the time was now 6:30 and we still hadn’t gotten our food. Normally I wouldn’t care but we had a 7:30 show we had to catch and were planning on leaving at 7. We gently checked in with the waitress and the food was out within 10 minutes. I ordered the Filet Mignon, my mom ordered the Salmon, and my great aunt ordered the broiled branzino. I ordered my steak medium and it came a little over medium well. Otherwise my dish was excellent. Asparagus was some of the best I’ve ever had. Potatoes were basically fancy scalloped potatoes, but still very tasty. Sauce on the steak was delicious, but surprisingly spicy. Not overwhelming but not what I anticipated. My mother said she enjoyed her salmon. She regularly cooks it at home and is hesitant to try it at restaurants as it’s difficult to get right. She said the salmon exceeded her expectations and was something above what she could cook at home. My great aunt enjoyed her boiled branzino (which was a white fish), but the menu stated it was supposed to come with lump crab and it was either so small it blended in with the quinoa or wasn’t included. My biggest disappointment was that we ran out of time for dessert as the dessert case looked absolutely delicious from top to bottom.
Kate BaileyKate Bailey
00
You will get no better bread, pastries or lobster thermador ANYWHERE. I was visiting Midland for a couple's weekend and absolutely loved Cafe Zinc. We stayed at The H Hotel (which is all part of this complex: The Hotel H, Table, Oxygen and Cafe Zinc) for a couple of nights to celebrate my birthday. We were seated outside on the patio situated right on Main Street. Great for people watching. Our dinner on Friday night was very special as I had their Lobster Thermidor and ABSOLUTELY LOVED it! My husband had the NY Strip Steak and he said it was very tasty and tender. We started our meal with the Parma fries and the Escargot with mushrooms. Both appetizers we delicious. There are a few notable items was the baked goods. Actually, the desserts and the bread will know your socks off. With a huge selection of pastries you will find it hard to choose. The bread was so good we took a loaf home to our family. If you are around when the Farmer's Market is open, Cafe Zinc has a stall with all their baked goods. Stop by! We did not have room for dessert (we were so stuffed) but we did try them out the next evening when we had cocktails at Oxygen. Why end a meal with dessert when you can start with one? I also want to mention the breakfast skillets. We both had a hearty breakfast on Sunday and loved it. The hash browns are worth the trip alone. Don't skip breakfast it was so good!
Margarita Ibbott (DownshiftingPRO)Margarita Ibbott (DownshiftingPRO)
00
Cafe Zinc [Zn] hails its name from the timeframe in the early time in this millennium when chemical monikers were the cute thing. Next door is the “H”, I.e., hydrogen. Even Dow had the slogan “The Human Element [Hu]. However, homed in the chemical city, certainly apropos. Ok, what about the food? Bigger portions than expected, superb taste and presentation, and excellent service! Highly recommended. The soup of the day and salad was a highlight. I had the beetroot salad, which consisted of bourbon whipped goat cheese, roasted butternut squash, toasted walnuts, baby kale, dried cranberries, and cranberry vinaigrette dressing, which ran $16. My significant other had the filet mignon, done medium rare. It came with fries catsup and accoutrements. In addition, we had the bisque soup of the day and a final entree of shrimp arrabiato. We asked the waitress to split this for two, which they happily did. This dish consisted of pipette pasta, tiger shrimp, parmesan reggiano and grilled baguette. Actually, having the dish split worked well, as it had quite a bit of food for two adults. We had the Main Street sour drink to boot, which was a great addition to the rest of the meal. We ended up taking much more home than we thought, as there was much food
Robert MostRobert Most
00
Ever since moving to Midland this past August for some temporary work, I’d heard good things about Café Zinc, and have been itching to go. My brother’s birthday was the perfect opportunity to check it out. And yes, it was as good as advertised. Near 70 degree weather (in November, no less) made sitting at one of the outdoor tables a treat. Our waiter, Luciano, was attentive and professional with a nice, low-key sense of humor. My lunch partners began with a tasty, albeit different take on our Lebanese family favorite, hommos, followed by a Caesar salad with chicken and a Croque Monsieur with a side of Parmigiano-Regiano pommes frites (thin n’ crispy fries). Plates were duly cleaned. I ordered the same frites to go with a duck confit salad, the latter of which was tender and juicy, if not quite as hot as I would have liked. All these goodies were accompanied by a couple of glasses of a refreshingly smooth 2019 Arona Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, a 2016 Drouhin Chardonnay from Burgundy, and a 2019 Camina Tempranillo from Castilla, Spain. It was a very nice lunch experience. And my sister-in-law has a birthday next month. Guess where we’re going?
Gregory HageageGregory Hageage
00
So...Parker the Barista/busboy at the counter was the Only saving grace. He made us excellent latte's and was super polite. Our actual waitress was unattentive. When our food arrived, (Quiche) Do not purchase, Both were cold in the middle. When I mentioned this to the waitress, (Meagan...on the receipt, which I had to ask for, as she was not wearing a name tag/badge) she laughed. The other waitress just ignored my statement. So her name could be something else. Either way, all waitstaff was unwilling to offer any kind of competent help. Overall, it was a horrible experience for a place that gives off a facade of class without having the waitstaff or culinary skills to match it. Pre-made boxed food items you could get at Aldi's. Parker was the Only person who was polite and offered amazing service. Which is why the place gets 1 star. Just an awful experience and I was just trying to take my niece to a quality cafe...this is not it. Oh the pic is of the armpit which they call 'Art'. I still tipped Parker and the waitress even though her service was not what one with decorum would hope for. I hope it will made someone in that restaurant smile...
WILLIAM B3ANSWILLIAM B3ANS
00
Stopped here about 4:30pm on a Saturday and were able to be seated immediately on the L shaped patio without reservations. They provide a basket of warm assorted bread for an appetizer. My entree was the fish tacos with fries and I had the creme brûlée for dessert. The fish tacos were very good with plenty of chipotle sauce. The creme brûlée was plentiful and prepared perfectly. Service was excellent keeping our water glasses filled on a extremely hot and humid day. Flat top tables with wicker chairs outside. Cloth napkins. Wifi. Limited street parking. Inside was very elegant but my party wanted to sit outside due to COVID concerns. The only negative was loud vehicles (music, motorcycles, mufflers) going by. Moderately high prices but probably the lowest in the trio of restaurants there. (118, the H and Cafe Zinc). I would recommend and would return.
Nyor MirrorNyor Mirror
00
Nearby Attractions Of Cafe Zinc
The Tridge
The H Hotel
Chippewassee Park
Midland Dog Park
Craft Hemp Company
Dow Gardens Conservatory
Santa House

The Tridge
4.7
(821)Click for details

The H Hotel
4.6
(575)Click for details

Chippewassee Park
4.6
(56)Click for details

Midland Dog Park
4.5
(42)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Cafe Zinc
Pizza Sam's Midland
Molasses Smokehouse and Bar
Gratzi Midland
WhichCraft Taproom
Maru Sushi & Grill
Live Oak Coffeehouse
Crepes Et Amis
Espresso Milano
Proper Taco
Pizza Baker, LLC

Pizza Sam's Midland
4.4
(650)Click for details

Molasses Smokehouse and Bar
4.5
(660)Click for details

Gratzi Midland
4.5
(584)Click for details

WhichCraft Taproom
4.6
(526)Click for details
Basic Info
Address
111 W Main St, Midland, MI 48640
Map
Phone
(989) 837-6030
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Website
thehhotel.com
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Reviews
Overview
4.5
(426 reviews)
Ratings & Description
Description
Elite bistro with modern stylings at the H Hotel presents New American fare & cocktails.
attractions: The Tridge, The H Hotel, Chippewassee Park, Midland Dog Park, Craft Hemp Company, Dow Gardens Conservatory, Santa House, restaurants: Pizza Sam's Midland, Molasses Smokehouse and Bar, Gratzi Midland, WhichCraft Taproom, Maru Sushi & Grill, Live Oak Coffeehouse, Crepes Et Amis, Espresso Milano, Proper Taco, Pizza Baker, LLC

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